I also have a dwarf lemon tree that has progressively lost all of its leave through the winter. The lemons that were established have remained but all else is lost. Yesterday, when I was looking it over in the bright sunlight outside, I noticed it had a very bad case of scale. I used (since I had nothing else on hand) dish soap and scrubbed them off all of the stems. Then I trimmed what looked like dead wood. Do I need to completely change the soil now and what else should I treat it with. I do not want to loose the plant entirely. It looks a lot better then it did at this point. I also have an ornamental orange, but it does not apppear to have been effected. Thanks
There is no way one could know if you should change the soil or not. Your the only person that knows the soil that the lemon is presently growing in, as to whether it has or has not become too compacted over time, and whether the growth medium is still free draining with good soil aeration. The tree is lucky in the sense that spring is just around the corner. I would give your tree a 35 percent chance of recovering. If the tree is without leaves, it will require VERY MINIMAL watering in the future. - Millet
I believe the question here is whether or not one has to treat the soil to take care of the scale. Does scale hang out or lay eggs in the soil? I am curious about this too. I found scale on my little lemon tree. I kept picking them off. I left the plant out through some very cold temperatures, but had to bring it in for the last cold snap. I could see no signs of scale when I brought it in. It is now in heavy bloom, so staying indoors under lights. I don't see any scale yet. I am hoping the cold did away with them.
I believe both eggs and live young, depending on the species of scale, originate from underneath the adult shell so that any that are found on the soil would be incidental. When I apply insecticidal soap I give the soil surface a spray as a precaution but I don't think it's necessary. Soap treatments are supposed to be repeated in which case the stragglers and newly hatched will be dealt with by subsequent applications. Since adults are protected by their shell they must be physically removed.
Scale can be blown onto the tree from a nearby tree & can also be in the soil and down around the roots of the tree.
Thank you, everyone, for the information. I only wish I would have noticed it earlier. I just attributed the leaf loss to having brought the tree in from outside in fall. I hope that I am able to revive the tree. Does anyone think that it will releaf once I have rid the plant of scale?
In your area, and on a citrus tree the type of scale your tree had would most probably be brown soft scale. The females of the soft scales can move about somewhat but they seldom do. Secreted wax, usually forms a sac at the rear end of the female body enclosing the eggs, which crawl out from under when the eggs hatch , thus the young are called crawlers. They quickly look for soft plant areas to began sucking the juices from the tree. Soft scales require one year to reach maturity. They do not live in the soil. A few scale causes very little if any damage to the tree, however, a large mass, can cause the tree to become defoliated or even killed. As Laaz has stated scale are also very adapt at hitching a ride, on the wind, the garments of greenhouse workers, or animals. - Millet
Thanks all. I answered my own question with an inspection of my little tree. The scale was naturally kept under control while the plant was outside, but they are thriving now that it is indoors. I now have to take the place of whatever was controlling it outside.
Once again, thank you everyone for your advice. I do have some other question. I continue to inspect the plant and remove any remaining scale that I find, and Yes Millet, it does appear to be a brown soft scale. My questions are 1. Is there a better insecticide that I can use to completely kill the blight 2. Now that the weather is warmer, should I be keeping it outside during the days to hopefully promote leaf growth 3. Should I apply any type of fertilizer to the plant at this time. As you can probably tell, I have never had a lemon tree before and appear to be failing miserably at my first attempt.
Horticultural oil will do a good job of killing scale and it is totally safe. Putting your plant outside is good for several reasons, but be careful not to expose it to too much direct sun too fast if it has not been exposed to sun all winter--it can get a sunburn. If you have a spot with filtered sun, that would be best, citrus can handle full sun but do just as well if not better in a filtered sun (I have all of my seedlings under a shade cloth). Outside, your tree will benefit from the wind as well. In addition, exposure to cool weather (below 65F) for about 800 hrs will help to get a good bloom. As for fertilizer, citrus are heavy feeders and a slow release fertilizer is the easiest to use and will work well. Try to find one with as close as you can get to a 5-1-3 NPK ratio that also has trace minerals (minors). However, since your tree is now leafless, it might be better to wait until you see some sign of growth. Skeet
Thanks again every one for all of your help and information regarding my poor lemon tree. Thank you especially Millet, upon inspection of the scale it does indeed look like the one you've mentioned. I continue to inspect my plant daily and remove any thing that I find. I do have a few other questions at this time 1- Is there a specific insecticide that I should treat the plant with at this point? 2- Now that it is warmer and sunnier - should I be putting it outside to hopefully promote new growth? 3- Is it advisable to give it a feed of fertilizer at this point? This is the first lemon tree that I have ever had and I appeare to be failing miserably at this point. I would love to revive this plant if at all possible.
Thank you Skeeterbug for your reply. I unfortunately reposted my questions because I did not see it come up and really wanted some answers. I will put the plant out. Should I leave it out at night yet or is it still too cold to do that do you think? (obviously if there was a threat of snow, I would bring it in)
Almost all citrus trees can handle temperatures down to freezing for short periods (the exceptions are a few like key limes that do not like to go much below 40). That said, since your tree is a container tree and the roots are not in the ground where they would be warmer than in a container in winter, you tree could be subject to winter leaf drop outside if it is in direct sun while the roots are below 60-65F. There are a few environmental factors outside that will help--like dew, wind, and humidity. If you have an outdoor spot where it would get indirect light or filtered sun or if you have a place you can put it under or behind a shade cloth (40 to 60% shade) it will be ok and you can leave it out unless temps are going to go below freezing. I have a dozen or so seedlings in black plastic pots (lemons, mandarins, oranges & key limes) that are outside under a shade cloth. Except for the key limes, I have left them all out continuously except for one freeze that went into the mid 20s. Many of them have had at least one flush during the winter.
My lemons are oozing a sticky resin substance from the leaves, what can I do? I have been also fighting the scale, mostly with success, and however, the potting medium is slightly to acidic ...
Thank you Skeeterbug, once again. I wish I would have known that earlier, I would have left it out for most of the winter. I will see what I can set up to protect it from the sun. Although, since it doesn't have any leaves at the moment, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think sun burn will be much of a problem.
Sun will not burn limbs as easily as leaves since they are thicker, but limbs can be sunburned as well. K Baron--the sticky substance is due to the scale problem, try the oil spray and repeat in a week to 10 days to get newly hatched as oil will not kill eggs.
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My Meyer lemons (4) have been outside all winter - 3 of them in the ground. I kept them covered and have large Christmas lights on to save the fruit when it drops below - 1 (30F) The scale appears to have gone dormant through the winter... Also I have a Poncirus Trifoliata (trifoliate orange) which had some scale last fall - it has been outside in a unprotected pot all winter - we will see if the pesky critters return. Greg
